Quantifying waste of fresh fruit and vegetables in European food supply chains
Engman, Simon ; Myrlander, William ; Hellström, Daniel LU
and SOHRABPOUR, VAHID
LU
(2015)
PLANs Forsknings- och tillämpningskonferens 2025
p.110-125
- Abstract
- Food waste represents major environmental, social, and economic challenges worldwide, with fresh fruit and vegetables accounting for a substantial share. This study quantifies post-harvest waste for five products, i.e. avocados, bananas, cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers, across 31 European countries (European Union member states plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) and examines its distribution across stages of the food supply chain. To achieve this, a top-down macro-level approach was applied, combining material flow analysis with coefficient-based estimations to quantify waste volumes at different stages of the food supply chain, from post-harvest to consumption. Publicly available supply utilization accounts from... (More)
- Food waste represents major environmental, social, and economic challenges worldwide, with fresh fruit and vegetables accounting for a substantial share. This study quantifies post-harvest waste for five products, i.e. avocados, bananas, cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers, across 31 European countries (European Union member states plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) and examines its distribution across stages of the food supply chain. To achieve this, a top-down macro-level approach was applied, combining material flow analysis with coefficient-based estimations to quantify waste volumes at different stages of the food supply chain, from post-harvest to consumption. Publicly available supply utilization accounts from the Food and Agriculture Organization and Eurostat were used to model fresh fruit and vegetable flows, which were then adjusted using product-specific coefficients derived from scientific literature. The results show substantial variation in waste patterns across countries and supply chain stages. In 2022, the total post-harvest waste from the five products was estimated at 5,14 million tonnes, of which approximately 60% originated from households. Bananas represented the largest share, accounting for more than half of the total waste, with losses exceeding 2,70 million tonnes. Beyond tonnes it is estimated that 6.6 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions and over 9 billion Euro are lost due to the food waste. While limitations remain regarding the validity of data, coefficients, and assumptions, the findings provide a scalable framework to inform future food waste reduction efforts in line with European Union targets and policies. This study points out the need for robust estimation techniques and stage-specific interventions across the food supply chain. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/a27f5049-807f-40b5-8a0a-492de68b3d9c
- author
- Engman, Simon
; Myrlander, William
; Hellström, Daniel
LU
and SOHRABPOUR, VAHID
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2015-10-22
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- pages
- 110 - 125
- conference name
- PLANs Forsknings- och tillämpningskonferens 2025
- conference location
- Lund, Sweden
- conference dates
- 2025-10-22 - 2025-10-23
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a27f5049-807f-40b5-8a0a-492de68b3d9c
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-22 16:52:36
- date last changed
- 2025-10-28 13:02:32
@misc{a27f5049-807f-40b5-8a0a-492de68b3d9c,
abstract = {{Food waste represents major environmental, social, and economic challenges worldwide, with fresh fruit and vegetables accounting for a substantial share. This study quantifies post-harvest waste for five products, i.e. avocados, bananas, cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers, across 31 European countries (European Union member states plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) and examines its distribution across stages of the food supply chain. To achieve this, a top-down macro-level approach was applied, combining material flow analysis with coefficient-based estimations to quantify waste volumes at different stages of the food supply chain, from post-harvest to consumption. Publicly available supply utilization accounts from the Food and Agriculture Organization and Eurostat were used to model fresh fruit and vegetable flows, which were then adjusted using product-specific coefficients derived from scientific literature. The results show substantial variation in waste patterns across countries and supply chain stages. In 2022, the total post-harvest waste from the five products was estimated at 5,14 million tonnes, of which approximately 60% originated from households. Bananas represented the largest share, accounting for more than half of the total waste, with losses exceeding 2,70 million tonnes. Beyond tonnes it is estimated that 6.6 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions and over 9 billion Euro are lost due to the food waste. While limitations remain regarding the validity of data, coefficients, and assumptions, the findings provide a scalable framework to inform future food waste reduction efforts in line with European Union targets and policies. This study points out the need for robust estimation techniques and stage-specific interventions across the food supply chain.}},
author = {{Engman, Simon and Myrlander, William and Hellström, Daniel and SOHRABPOUR, VAHID}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{10}},
pages = {{110--125}},
title = {{Quantifying waste of fresh fruit and vegetables in European food supply chains}},
year = {{2015}},
}